Frankenmuth Brewery deal comes to a head

The suds may soon flow again at one of Frankenmuth's oldest establishments. Sheila Stamiris, downtown development authority executive director, confirmed a purchase agreement between Bank of America and Frankenmuth Brewery Real Estate for the Frankemuth Brewery at 425 S. Main. Anmar K. Sarafa, chief investment officer for Birmingham-based Steward Capital Management Inc. bought the property Jan. 30. Haithem Sarafa, attorney and spokesman for his brother, said negotiations are under way with "various potential tenants that are interested in running the brewery and restaurant." "There's quite a few interested parties right now, and some are local," he said. Stamiris said the asking price for the restaurant/brewery was $2.9 million by LaSalle Bank Midwest in 2006, which since has become Bank of America. Haithem Sarafa declined comment on the actual purchase price. A purchase agreement for the property took shape in August, but the parties extended it twice to accommodate negotiations. Stamiris said the business has been closed since November 2006, when the Heine family turned over the property to bank after not finding a lender to refinance a $3.9 million loan. Martin Heubisch and Wilhelm Knaust built the brewery in 1862. John G. Geyer bought it in 1874, renaming the business Geyer Bros. Brewing Co. Ownership of the brewery transferred to Ervin Industries and Ferdinand M. Schumacher in 1987 for $365,000 in a bankruptcy settlement. They renamed the business Frankenmuth Brewery, Inc. "It was a great place," Schumacher said, co-owner and president from 1987 until 1992, when he sold his shares to the Heine family. "My venture was pretty tough, breaking into the microbrewery market (in May 1988). At that time, we just had the brewery and a tasting room." Randall E. Heine bought majority ownership from Ervin Industries in 1990, and sold as many as 13,000 barrels of beer in 25 states before an F3 tornado on June 21, 1996, ripped through Little Bavaria. The establishment was closed for seven years, re-opening in June 2003 after construction of an 300-seat, three-level restaurant. Haithem Sarafa, also is managing director of Steward Capital, said no deadline is set to find an operator. "Hopefully, we will just turn it around and give it to the people that want it," he said. "The faster, the better for all parties concerned."